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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Which generation of console gaming was the biggest leap forward?

 

Which generation displayed the greatest advancement?

Gen 1 - Gen 2 5 1.09%
 
Gen 2 - Gen 3 17 3.70%
 
Gen 3 - Gen 4 13 2.83%
 
Gen 4 - Gen 5 220 47.83%
 
Gen 5 - Gen 6 99 21.52%
 
Gen 6 - Gen 7 91 19.78%
 
Gen 7 - Gen 8 15 3.26%
 
Total:460

You know the gen 4 to 5 is an obvious answer, but I think age is playing a role here as is our knee jerk vote... When I really think it over the leap from Gen 2 to Gen 3 is clearly the bigger one. They didn't add a dimension but the leap in scope was far larger going from those earliest of consoles to the NES/SMS etc days, saved games were popularized, the modern controller was born, and I see a greater graphical difference between Pitfall and Super Mario Bros 3 than between a Super Mario World and Super Mario 64. Sports games also made the transition from largely unestablished franchises into more popular ones, such as Madden.

Heck, most of the games from the 2nd gen were just one screen, had exceedingly simple sound effects, and had such limited graphics that you required a manual just to know what each square represented. The difference is certainly larger in my opinion... Those gen 3 games have always seemed to me to be the clear birth of the modern industry, whereas gen 5 was simply embracing and running with the 3d that had been attempted and toyed with on gen 4.

Also, Gen 2 saw cartrige-based handhelds get off the ground.



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Gen 5 by far.
I mean Mario 64, Zelda Ocarina Of Time, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Metal Gear, FFVII...no other generation comes even close to that.

After Gen 5, I would say Gen 6, then Gen 4 and then Gen 3.



6 to 7. With 5 to 6 coming close.

But the types of games we saw in gen 7 that were simply not possible in gen 6 such as the story in Mass Effect or the scale of Skyrim/Fallout.



Currently own:

 

  • Ps4

 

Currently playing: Witcher 3, Walking Dead S1/2, GTA5, Dying Light, Tomb Raider Remaster, MGS Ground Zeros

Regardless, I think the gens can be separated fairly comfortably into a few distinguishable phases.

Phase 1: Gen 1 & 2
-Industry still in infancy
-little to no regulation (hello licensed cross-platform game adapter/endless shovel ware!)
-Games incredibly simplistic
-most popular games are generally poor arcade ports
-Sports games extremely limited

Phase 2: Gen 3 & 4
-industry becomes heavily regulated in a way we'd recognize today
-Scope of games drastically increased
-Modern controllers are born
-Save Games become common
-Cartrige based handhelds become popular
-Consoles more capable of new genres like RPGs
-Improved music, voice, sound effects
-2d games and platforming mastered
-3d toyed with but not common
-Sports games become licensed and exceedingly popular

Phase 3: Gen 5 & 6
-3D largely introduced and mastered
-Intro of future juggernauts Sony/Microsoft while Sega bows out
-Analog stick becomes main tool for movement
-Cartriges are replaced by CDs
-the FPS really takes hold as a powerful, popular genre
-Ability to play DVDs and serve purposes outside of purely gaming becomes exceedingly important
-Controllers begin to gain additional attributes like rumble and such
-Games are still largely local though online begins its rise
-Last phase where it was common to see many smaller companies producing a console of their own
-Sports games begin to dominate
-First true 3d sandbox games appear


Phase 4: Gen 7 & 8
-Internet becomes a near necessity
-Games grow sufficiently large that they generally require downloadable patches and installations
-DRM toyed with though generally rejected
-Strong competition with mobile games
-Operating Systems increasingly complex
-Capable of far more than just games, including DVDs, apps, Internet etc
-Online subscriptions becoming the norm
-Photorealistic graphics (~1080i+) become almost expected
-Downloadable games more prevalent than ever
-Advent of said downloadable games leads to rebirth of indie scene to scale not seen since Gen 2
-Motion controls/use of cameras done well
-To be the first true dive into VR
-Online multiplayer becomes more important than local multiplayer
-The shooter becomes the most popular of the generation's genres alongside sports games


Going forward Im not sure what will be the next dividing line, but if I had to guess I'd say greater prevalence of digital downloads, VR, and online libraries.



DevilRising said:

I'm sorry, but the best possible answer is the leap from Gen 2 (which included far more consoles than just the Atari 2600, including the Atari 5200, the Intellivision, Collecovision, etc.), to Gen 3.

Yes, the "leap from 2D to 3D was big". But that was not THAT big of a jump, when you think about it. 2D gaming and 3D gaming are the same thing, just different styles. And games taking place on a 3D plane had existed for a good decade or more before Gen 5 came about anyway, so it was hardly anything new. It just because "the new thing", and in many ways got perfected or taken to new heights by games like Super Mario 64.

But, if we're being real, at least in my opinion, the leap from the Atari generation to the NES/Master System generation, was FAR bigger leap. Just go look at the difference in the games. The games on those Gen 2 systems were SUPER simple, not just the simple block graphics, but the actual gameplay, was very simple. That's not BAD, it can be (and was) very fun. But the games on NES and Master System were SO far advanced over what had existed in the previous gen, that it's not even funny.

Just on the NES alone, the gaming conventions that came about with Gen 3, that would be standards set for the rest of gaming history, are staggering. The conventional console controller set-up was established, with multiple action buttons, a "d-pad" control instead of some sort of joystick, start/select/option buttons, etc. And then you had genre starting/defining games, like Super Mario Bros., and The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid, etc. Super Mario Bros. alone established SO many conventions of gaming that hadn't even truly been though of beforehand, such as larger, expansive levels, multiple, varying game "worlds", more complex and responsive game-world physics and game controls, redefining the convention of "power ups", etc.

In general, while there were concurrent evolutions going on before and after Gen 3 really got started, in the arcades, and with home computer games, those Gen 3 games really fleshed out SO much of what gaming could be, as compared to Gens 1 or 2. From then on, for the most part, as far as I'm concerned at least, every gaming Gen after has mostly been about aesthetical improvements, better graphics, better sound, bigger physical mediums, more powerful hardware, etc.

Gen 3 was the Gen when gaming really got complex. And all you have to do is look at JUST how many games and franchises got their start or really got established during that gen: Super Mario Bros., Zelda, Metroid, Kid Icarus, Excitebike, Punch Out, Alex Kidd, Phantasy Star, Wonder Boy, Bomberman, Mega Man, Castlevania, Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem, Dragon Quest, Shinobi, Ninja Gaiden, Metal Gear, Star Soldier, Tetris, Adventure Island, Contra, TMNT, Double Dragon, Golden Axe, Outrun, R-Type, Dr. Mario, Gradius, Kirby, Fantasy Zone, Star Tropics, etc. etc. etc.


I definitely think that was the biggest leap forward.

It's a compelling argument you raise here. I voted 4-5 but upon refelection I think you may have a point with regards to the 3rd gen.



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I've seen every generation jump from 2-8 and it was definitely the Genesis to PS1. Going from Sonic 2 to SM64 was mind blowing... and that's putting it very lightly.



Gen 4 to Gen 5
Because 3D



4 to 5.



Proud to be the first cool Nintendo fan ever

Number ONE Zelda fan in the Universe

DKCTF didn't move consoles

Prediction: No Zelda HD for Wii U, quietly moved to the succesor

Predictions for Nintendo NX and Mobile


Gen 4 to 5

2D to 3D was a huge step forward.



People say 4-5, but honestly it was a very uneven transition. Going from Street Fighter II to Virtua Fighter felt like a massive step backward at the time. Gen 5 was an ugly generation visually and controls at times were clunky, I remember being desperate for Gen 6 when polygons finally looked good.

For me it is 2-3 and 5-6 as both times gaming (2D, then 3D) looked far less limited and abstract.